{"id":25891,"date":"2023-04-14T22:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-57_14-21-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T00:13:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T07:13:52","slug":"isaiah-58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-58\/","title":{"rendered":"When You Have a Tough Time Sensing God, This Could Be A Reason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 58 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 58.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 58:1 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1: \u00a0In Isaiah 57:14-21, Isaiah declared the forgiveness, the mercy and the freedom from captivity to sin that God has made possible for His people.\u00a0 Yet here in Isaiah 58, God tells Isaiah to raise his voice like a trumpet and declare to the people their rebellion and their sins.\u00a0 What does this teach us?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even after we have received the forgiveness, the mercy and the freedom that God freely makes available to us, there is still work for us to do.\u00a0 It\u2019s the sanctification after the salvation.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s the growing up after being born again.<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s about becoming mature after you become a member of God\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 58:2-10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the\u00a0LORD?
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will be your rear guard.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then you will call, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-10:\u00a0 With great eloquence (for example, I love Isaiah\u2019s play on the words \u201cflesh and blood\u201d in verse 7), Isaiah communicates God\u2019s displeasure at how His people have been fasting.\u00a0 Isaiah is not saying that fasting is wrong or unnecessary.\u00a0 Later in Matthew 6 Jesus would give us instructions on what to do \u201cwhen<\/em>\u00a0you fast\u201d, not if you fast.\u00a0 But Isaiah here and Jesus in Matthew 5 are talking about the heart with which you do anything spiritual, such as fasting.\u00a0 It\u2019s about the condition of your heart.\u00a0 It\u2019s about integrity.\u00a0 In the case of Isaiah\u2019s people, they were fasting and yet also exploiting their workers at the same time (v3).\u00a0 They were fasting and at the same time quarreling and fighting with one another (v4).\u00a0 God is saying that fasting is just a show if while you fast there remain glaring sin and injustice issues in your life that you are not dealing with.\u00a0\u00a0God is very practical.\u00a0 He is not interested in superficial worship or token offerings.\u00a0 He wants hearts that are truly humble, open and surrendered to doing what pleases Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, Isaiah is pointing out that\u00a0sometimes the reason why we don\u2019t hear from God, don\u2019t sense Him, don\u2019t experience Him is because sin has gotten in the way<\/strong>.\u00a0 Wait, JB!\u00a0 If God has already forgiven me of my sins, how can sin still get in the way between God and me?\u00a0 Let me give an analogy:\u00a0 When my wife and I got married many years ago, we entered into a marriage covenant, a legal relationship with one another.\u00a0 Now if I sin against my wife (say I foolishly speak a hurtful word to her or act selfishly), and I keep doing so, does that change my legal relationship with my wife?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 She\u2019s still my wife no matter how badly I behave.\u00a0 But does my sin affect the emotional relationship between my wife and me?\u00a0 Of course it does.<\/p>\n

The same goes for your relationship with God.\u00a0 Once you receive Jesus into your life, you entered into a new covenant with God, a legal relationship that sin cannot separate you from anymore.\u00a0 But when you continue to sin after becoming a Christian, can your sins affect your emotional relationship with God?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 That is why the New Testament says \u201cDo not grieve the Spirit of God, with whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption\u201d (Ephesians 4:30).\u00a0 When we sin, we can grieve the Holy Spirit and in addition dump a pile of shame, guilt and restlessness on ourselves.\u00a0 Like ear wax, sin gets in the way, such that we find it tough to hear from God or to sense His presence.\u00a0 That is why it is important to confess our sins, to clear the emotional air with God.\u00a0 When we \u201cdo away\u201d (v9b) with our sin through repentance and drawing near to God, that\u2019s when we can hear from God again.\u00a0 That\u2019s why repentance is so important.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 58:11-14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the\u00a0LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then you will find your joy in the\u00a0LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has spoken.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-14:\u00a0 When we repent and start living as God wants us to live, not only do we clear the air with God and experience His presence again, but even more:
\n–\u00a0 We let God guide us and satisfy us, such that even in a desert season, like a well-watered garden we won\u2019t lack what we need (v11).
\n–\u00a0 God will use us to build His age-old kingdom in our modern world.\u00a0 We step into our calling as those who restore God\u2019s glory to our world (v12).
\n–\u00a0 We will find joy in God again and experience His blessings (v14).<\/p>\n

Thank You Father that You continue to work on us even after You save us.\u00a0 To the extent that I\u2019ve allowed sin to get in the way of our relationship, please help me to see it and repent from it, so that You can have maximum room to work in and through my life.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 58.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!
\n\u00a0
\nIsaiah 58:1 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verse 1: \u00a0In Isaiah 57:14-21, Isaiah declared the forgiveness, the mercy and the freedom from captivity to sin that God has made possible for His people.\u00a0 Yet here in Isaiah 58, God tells Isaiah to raise his voice like a trumpet and declare to the people their rebellion and their sins.\u00a0 What does this teach us?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even after we have received the forgiveness, the mercy and the freedom that God freely makes available to us, there is still work for us to do.\u00a0 It\u2019s the sanctification after the salvation.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the growing up after being born again.\u00a0 It\u2019s about becoming mature after you become a member of God\u2019s family.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25894,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25891\/revisions\/25894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}